Department of Civil Aviation

The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) is responsible for the provision and regulation of Air Traffic services in the Nicosia Flight Information Region and the control towers at Larnaca and Paphos airports, the development and operation of the country’s airports and the development of air transport services with third countries. Safety and Security Regulation and the implementation of European Law on air transport are also among the main activities of the Department.

With the accession of Cyprus to the European Union, the new Civil Aviation Law N.213 (I) 2002, which is fully harmonized with the acquis communautaire on Air transport, entered into force. The adoption and implementation of the acquis is a continuous process therefore the DCA follows closely the developments in the EU so that it implements new Regulations and Directives expediently and effectively. Since the air transport environment is dynamic and there is a change in Regulation, the Department follows closely the development on this matter.

The liberalisation of Air Services for routes within the Community has been one of the major changes that came about with the accession to the EU. Despite the short period since accession, the benefits to the customer are already evident and are manifested lower fares and increased choices of routes and carriers.

The process of modernising Cyprus´ airports has proceeded with the selection of the private consortium, Hermes Airports, which has taken over the development and operation of the new airports under a B.O.T project (Build, Operate, Transfer) for a period of 25 years. In the meantime the consortium will also operate the existing facilities, which have already undergone improvements, until construction of the new airports is completed.

The liberalisation of air transport, in combination with the development of the new airports, is expected to create the potential for Cyprus to become a regional transit hub between Europe and the Middle East.

With the assistance of expert consultants the DCA is in a process of restructuring to enable it to continue to fulfill its mission. In this context and as a first step in complying with EU Regulations the DCA has already separated the provision of Air Traffic Services from the corresponding National supervisory authority (NSA). The organisation and staffing of the NSA, is being implemented with the assistance of Eurocontrol.